STEP: Sustainable Training for Event Professionals
Can events change the world? At STEP, they can. The project is developing a fully open-access training programme for event planners. Professionals and students gain concrete knowledge and skills with which the European events industry can become more sustainable — creating a sector that can serve as an example for other industries. STEP builds a practical learning environment for the whole of Europe, directly applicable in day-to-day practice.
The training will be available from late 2026. Get in touch for more information or to take part in the pilot.
Project duration: September 2026 – August 2027
The challenge
The European events industry has a sizeable ecological footprint through energy use, mobility, material consumption and waste. Despite policy goals and sustainability guidelines, professionals find it hard to put these into practice: training is fragmented, expensive and often difficult to access, so structural behavioural change fails to materialise. At the same time, European policy such as the Green Deal demands measurable action from sectors with a large environmental impact.
STEP bundles practice-oriented, validated knowledge into one coherent and accessible learning programme. Professionals and students apply it directly, develop skills and make sustainable choices — enabling the events industry to lead by example for other sectors.
Our approach
STEP takes a blended approach: online learning combined with practice-oriented workshops and pilots. The modular training programme includes videos, infographics, case studies and quizzes with directly applicable knowledge. A European supplier directory will also be set up, so professionals can easily find circular and low-carbon solutions. In workshops, participants receive coaching and apply their knowledge in concrete event pilots. In parallel, a Community of Practice is created for knowledge sharing, peer learning and lasting behavioural change — continuing beyond the project itself.
The project is carried out by an international consortium of five partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovakia, combining expertise in sustainable event management, higher education, vocational education (VET), online didactics and industry representation. Coordination lies with VO Group (Belgium). ETFI at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences contributes academic research and quality assurance, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain) develops the online learning platform and training materials, and Creative Pro (Slovakia) and Confederation Events (Belgium) connect the project with professional practice. Wherever possible, students are involved in development and pilots.
The impact
The project delivers a coherent, scalable training offer for sustainable event management, accessible to professionals and educators across Europe. An estimated 400 event professionals and students will be trained and 40 sustainable event pilots carried out. A lasting Community of Practice and a European supplier directory will make sustainable choices easier in everyday practice.
STEP strengthens vocational education, fosters cooperation between vocational and higher education, builds professional skills and accelerates the adoption of circular and climate-friendly ways of working — helping the sector work more sustainably and serve as an example for other industries.
What could we discover together?
Whether you have a research question, a project idea or an interest in collaborating, we'd love to hear from you.
Contact our team!